Paleo-earthquake studies on the eastern section of the Kunlun fault

Introduction East Kunlun active fault is one of the largest sinistral slip fault zones in northern Tibetan Pla-teau. The fault tails primarily after the ancient eastern Kunlun suture zone, which was reactivatedby the northward subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate. The western end of thefault starts near the western flank of the Buxedaban peak in Qinghai Province. The fault then ex-tends eastwards through the Kusai Lake, Xidatan, Dongdatan, Alag Lake, Tuosuo Lak…     

Influence of the Neotethys rifting on the development of the Dampier Sub-basin (North West Shelf of Australia), highlighted by subsidence modelling

During the Late Palaeozoic and the Mesozoic, the development and evolution of the North West Shelf of Australia have been mostly driven by rifting phases associated with the break-up of Gondwana. These extensional episodes, which culminated in the opening of the Neotethys Ocean during the Permo-Carboniferous and a series of abyssal plains during the Jurassic-Cretaceous, are characterised by different stress regimes and modes of extension, and therefore had distinctive effects on the margin, and particularly on the Northern Carnarvon Basin.Interpretation of 3D and 2D seismic data enables a structural and stratigraphic analysis of the Late Palaeozoic sediments deposited in the proximal part of the Dampier Sub-basin (Mermaid Nose). Based on their seismic characters, stratigraphic relationship, internal patterns, lateral continuity, and architecture, these units are associated here with the Pennsylvanian?–Early Sakmarian glaciogenic Lyons Group and the Sakmarian–Artinskian Callytharra Formation. The former were deposited in a half-graben whose development is associated with the onset of the Neotethys rifting, and the latter is characterised by restricted deposition, inversion of prograding patterns, and uplift.The integration of seismo-stratigraphic characterisation of the Late Palaeozoic sequences and Mesozoic data from one exploration well (Roebuck-1) enables the construction of subsidence curves for the Mermaid Nose and the interpretation of its geohistory.The tectonic subsidence curves show a striking Permo-Carboniferous rifting phase related to the Neotethys rifting and a discrete Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous event coeval with the opening and the spreading of the Argo Abyssal Plain.This result points out the predominance of the effects of the Permo-Carboniferous Neotethys episode, whereas the extension related to the Argo Abyssal Plain rifting that occurred later and closer to the studied area, had only limited effects on the subsidence of the proximal Dampier Sub-basin. Therefore, it supports a tectonic model with two distinct modes of extension for the Late Palaeozoic (widespread) and the Mesozoic (localised) rifting phases.     

Western Alpine back-thrusting as subsidence mechanism in the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (Western Po Plain, NW Italy)

Basin formation dynamics of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin (TPB) are here investigated by means of cross-section numerical modelling. Previous works hypothesised that basin subsidence occurred due first to extension (Oligocene) and then to subsequent loading due to back-thrusting (Miocene). However, structural evidence shows that the TPB was mainly under contraction from Oligocene until post Pliocene time while extension played a minor role. Furthermore, thermal indicators strongly call for a cold (flexure-induced) mechanism but are strictly inconsistent with a hot (thermally induced) mechanism. Our new modelling shows that the TPB stratigraphic features can be reproduced by flexure of a visco-elastic plate loaded by back-thrusts active in the Western Alps in Oligo-Miocene times. Far-field compression contributed to the TPB subsidence and controlled the basin infill geometry by enhancing basin tilting, forebulge uplift and erosion of the southern margin of the basin. These results suggest that the TPB subsidence is the result of a combination of mechanisms including thrust loading and far-field compressional stresses.     

Near-vertical seismic reflection image using a novel acquisition technique across the Vrancea Zone and Foscani Basin, south-eastern Carpathians (Romania)

The DACIA PLAN (Danube and Carpathian Integrated Action on Process in the Lithosphere and Neotectonics) deep seismic sounding survey was performed in August–September 2001 in south-eastern Romania, at the same time as the regional deep refraction seismic survey VRANCEA 2001. The main goal of the experiment was to obtain new information on the deep structure of the external Carpathians nappes and the architecture of Tertiary/Quaternary basins developed within and adjacent to the seismically-active Vrancea zone, including the Focsani Basin. The seismic reflection line had a WNW–ESE orientation, running from internal East Carpathians units, across the mountainous south-eastern Carpathians, and the foreland Focsani Basin towards the Danube Delta. There were 131 shot points along the profile, with about 1 km spacing, and data were recorded with stand-alone RefTek-125s (also known as “Texans”), supplied by the University Texas at El Paso and the PASSCAL Institute. The entire line was recorded in three deployments, using about 340 receivers in the first deployment and 640 receivers in each of the other two deployments. The resulting deep seismic reflection stacks, processed to 20 s along the entire profile and to 10 s in the eastern Focsani Basin, are presented here. The regional architecture of the latter, interpreted in the context of abundant independent constraint from exploration seismic and subsurface data, is well imaged. Image quality within and beneath the thrust belt is of much poorer quality. Nevertheless, there is good evidence to suggest that a thick (10 km) sedimentary basin having the structure of a graben and of indeterminate age underlies the westernmost part of the Focsani Basin, in the depth range 10–25 km. Most of the crustal depth seismicity observed in the Vrancea zone (as opposed to the more intense upper mantle seismicity) appears to be associated with this sedimentary basin. The sedimentary successions within this basin and other horizons visible further to the west, beneath the Carpathian nappes, suggest that the geometry of the Neogene and recent uplift observed in the Vrancea zone, likely coupled with contemporaneous rapid subsidence in the foreland, is detached from deeper levels of the crust at about 10 km depth. The Moho lies at a depth of about 40 km along the profile, its poor expression in the reflection stack being strengthened by independent estimates from the refraction data. Given the apparent thickness of the (meta)sedimentary supracrustal units, the crystalline crust beneath this area is quite thin (< 20 km) supporting the hypothesis that there may have been delamination of (lower) continental crust in this area involved in the evolution of the seismic Vrancea zone.     

Tectono-sedimentary control on modern sand deposition on the forebulge of the Western Taiwan Foreland Basin

Whether the formation of the isolated sand body deposition in the forebulge area of a foreland basin system is structure- or deposition-controlled has puzzled geologists for decades, although sand body deposition is generally believed to be indicative of the position of the flexural forebulge in a foreland basin. The formation of a modern sand body in the forebulge area is thus examined by multi-scale geophysical observations based on combined reflection seismic profiles and compressed high-intensity radar pulse (CHIRP) profiles across the sand deposition along the forebulge of the Western Taiwan Foreland Basin (WTFB), which is a Late Miocene-present foreland basin in the overfilled stage. These profiles suggest that the accumulation of the sand deposits along the forebulge of the WTFB is not directly associated with forebulge faultings. The relief map of the forebulge deposit substratum shows a northwestward tilting slope, and the isopach of the forebulge sand body indicates that a large part of the sand body accumulated along the axis of the Taiwan Strait and the subdued forebulge of the WTFB. The difference between the prevailing directions of tidal currents between the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea reflects the probable sedimentary influence of the cratonward migrating fold-thrust belt within a foreland shelf. We suggest that the formation and distribution of the sand deposits along the forebulge of the WTFB are generally controlled not only by the transverse downslope sedimentation but also longitudinal hydrodynamic processes at distal parts of the foreland basin. Our explanation provides a plausible tectono-sedimentary cause of the sand body deposition in the forebulge area in an overfilled foreland basin. The sedimentary dynamics of the sand body in the Taiwan Strait may be applicable for understanding the formation of isolated sand bodies in the distal part of the Cretaceous Western Interior Foreland Basin.     

Contrast in stress–strain history during exhumation between high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic units in the Western Alps: Microboudinage analysis of piemontite in metacherts

Our analyses of microboudinage structures of piemontite grains embedded within six samples of metachert, one collected from an ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic unit at Lago di Cignana in Italy of the Western Alps, and the other five from surrounding high-pressure (HP) metamorphic units in Italy and France, have revealed that the structures are all symmetrical in type, and were presumably produced in coaxial strain fields. Stress–strain analyses of the microboudinaged grains revealed significant contrasts in the stress and strain histories of the UHP and HP metamorphic units, with the differential stress recorded by the UHP sample being unequivocally lower than that recorded by the five HP samples. In addition, our analyses showed that the UHP sample underwent stress-relaxation during microboudinage, whereas the five HP samples did not. On the basis of these observations and analyses we discuss the mechanical decoupling of the UHP and HP units that led to different histories in differential stress between the units during exhumation of the Western Alps.     

Low-temperature constraints on the Alpine thermal evolution of the Western Carpathian basement rock complexes

The Cretaceous to Palaeogene Alpine exhumation of previously buried Variscan basements is recorded in the southern portion of the Western Carpathians in the Gemeric and Veporic units. The Meso-Cenozoic collisional processes resulted in basement exhumation of the Tatric Unit from Palaeogene to Neogene times. According to zircon and apatite fission track data, the Gemeric Unit, an uppermost thick-skinned thrust sheet, cooled from depth levels of ∼10 up to 2.5 km (temperature interval of ∼250–60 °C) about 88–64 Ma ago, after the collapse of overlying Meliata-Turňa-Silica Mesozoic accretionary prism. The middle and lower thick-skinned thrust sheets, Veporic and Tatric units, cooled from the depths of ∼10 up to 2.5 km ∼110–40 Ma ago. The process was controlled by unroofing of footwall from beneath the Gemeric Unit. About 50–20 Ma ago, the internal zone of Tatric Unit gradually exhumed to depth of <2 km and some parts of the unit appeared at the surface level. However, the external zone of Tatric Unit was buried beneath the Eocene to Lower Miocene sedimentary successions and exhumed to the subsurface level at ∼21–8 Ma ago, as a result of oblique collision of the Western Carpathians with the European Platform.     

The first evidence of paleo-wildfire from the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of North Africa

Although the fossil record of plant macro- and mesofossils, including fossil charcoal, is patchy geographically and temporally, such remains play an important role for the interpretation of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic developments in the continental realm. In Egypt, previous palynological studies on the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) deposits suggested presence of lush subtropical forests, dominated by angiosperms and pteridophytes, which developed under warm and wet climatic conditions. In the present study, the occurrence of paleo-wildfires during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) is presented for the first time, based on samples from a surface exposure in the vicinity of the Baris Oasis, south Western Desert, Egypt. Macroscopic charcoal was collected and subsequently analyzed under a stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The charred wood remains were identified as belonging to gymnosperms, which were important components of the North African paleoflora during the Cretaceous. These charcoal remains represent the first verified occurrence of paleo-wildfires in Africa during the Campanian.     

Mawsoniid remains (Sarcopterygii: Actinistia) from the lacustrine Missão Velha Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Araripe Basin,North-East Brazil

Mawsoniids are a lineage of extinct fresh/brackish water coelacanth fishes, common in Cretaceous Godwanan deposits of South America, North and West Africa and Madagascar. Here we formally describe mawsoniid remains from the fluvio-lacustrine Missão Velha Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Araripe Basin, North-East Brazil. The examples from the Missão Velha Formation are here described as Mawsonia cf. gigas, based mainly on elements of the lower jaw and opercular series. The occurrence of M. cf. gigas in the Missão Velha Formation expands the stratigraphic and geographical ranges of the type species.